For most, this time of year evokes a feeling of family.  You tend to want to reach out to those you have not seen in a while and catch up.  Perhaps they live close by and you just can't seem to get together often enough throughout the year.  Perhaps they live far away and the only way you would get to see them is to travel by plane, train or automobile for many hours.  Perhaps you cannot afford to do that.

A great way to stay in touch with your family and keep them up to date with what is going on in your life is to send out a newsletter.  Have you always wanted to write a newsletter to send out to all of your relatives during the holiday season?  Are you having trouble figuring out how to write it and where to start?

The first thing you need to do is create a list of everyone you want to send the letter to, including their full name and address is using traditional mail or email addresses if you are choosing to send it by email.  (I tend to be old-fashioned, I guess, and still believe that  traditional mail is more personal.)  

Next, you want to make a list of the topics or items of interest you would like to mention in your newsletter. This may include vacations you've taken this past year, notes about various family members about what they have accomplished this year or what they are doing these days, thoughts of the season and so on.  At first, don't worry about putting them into story form, or even sentence form.  Just jot down all of your ideas using bullet points on a piece of paper.

Once you have all the ideas written down, choose one topic at a time and write a few sentences about that subject.  This can be handwritten or done in a Word document on your computer.  (This is preferable because it is easier to edit what you write.)

After you have finished writing about each of the subjects, you can prioritize the subjects and put your paragraphs in order accordingly.  

Finally, return to the top of the newsletter document and write an introduction, putting your various topics underneath.  Then, finally, add a closing at the bottom.   

That's all it takes! 

It's nice to mail out your newsletter to each person but, the alternative is to send it via email with some graphics or family photos thrown in for good measure.  Encourage other relatives to do the same.  It would be fun to receive newsletters from them too! 

If you start preparing your newsletter now, you can have it done and sent out in time for the holidays.  You can send it out anytime in December.  It would not be too soon.

So get started and share your stories with your relatives (and even friends) to keep everyone abreast of what is happening in your life. 

Wishing those of the Jewish faith a Happy Chanukah!

Wishing everyone an organized week!  

Did you ever wonder about those people who seem to have it all together?  Contrary to popular belief, they are not perfectionists.  They simply follow a few simple rules.

Here are  a few habits of highly organized people:

Rule 1 - Walk Away - Just because you can buy something at a good price doesn't mean you should.  You need to ask yourself "Do I already have something similar?" and "If I did buy this item, do I have a place to store it?"  The answers to these questions will help you decide whether you actually need to buy it or you can walk away. Remember, purchase with purpose.

Rule 2 - It's Okay To Not Be Perfect - Some people won't do a job unless they can do it perfectly.  Most people do a job that's "good enough".  That's fine.  It's okay to buy that store bought pie instead of making one from scratch when having company over.  You can easily get bogged down with the details of a task if you try to do every task perfectly.  You tend to be your own worst critic.  Lighten up!  It doesn't have to be perfect to get it done.  

Rule 3 - Never Label Anything Miscellaneous -  This term is too broad and only causes confusion.  If you randomly put a bunch of things in a file or a box and just write "Miscellaneous" on it, I guarantee that within a week, you will have forgotten what's in there!  Sort your items by specific groups and label them accordingly.

Rule 4 - Schedule Time To Declutter - Instead of waiting until you get in the "mood" to declutter (that will never happen!), create a routine that involves spending no more than 15 minutes a day.  Sort through your mail, pick up toys, clean up the dishes, etc.  Than, take one day of the week to tackle a new project in more detail.  You will find that the clutter will no longer build up and become another "project".

Rule 5 - If It's Not Broken, Don't Fix It -  Do you find yourself having to try out every new gadget or thing that comes down the pike?  Be happy with what you already have and stop wasting your time.  Stick with what you have and you will save a lot of time, energy and money. 

So, do you think you possess the habits of a highly organized person?   If you do, keep on doing what it is you do.  

Perhaps you aspire to be a more organized person and just don't know where to begin  If so, let me hear from you.  I am more than happy to help you become the organized person you have always wanted to be.

In the meantime, have a great Thanksgiving holiday! 

The past week was a tough one for me.  My PC crashed after being in the shop for 3 days and it was determined that  I needed a brand new hard drive.  I ended up losing a lot of information that I had saved to my desk top for the past six and a half years.  (I had no idea that when I took my new PC case to have my old hard drive installed into it, the entire system would freeze up and the hard drive would now become useless.  I was not prepared.)

Fortunately I had saved my documents and pictures onto my external hard drive so I am now getting my ducks back in a row, as they say, and moving on.

Well, I don't know how your week was - hopefully a lot better than mine - but I thought we can all use some inspiration to keep us going through those rough spots, so I am here to share.

Here is an uplifting poem:

If you think you are beaten, you are
If you think you dare not, you don't,
If you like to win, but you think you can't
It is almost certain you won't.

If you think you'll lose, you're lost
For out of the world we find,
Success begins with a fellow's will
It's all in the state of mind.

If you think you are outclassed, you are
You've got to think high to rise,
You've got to be sure of yourself before
You can ever win a prize.

Life's battles don't always go
To the stronger or faster man,
But soon or late the person who wins
Is the person who thinks 'I CAN!'

-- Walter D. Wintle

I hope you find this as helpful and inspiring as I did.

If you find you are in a state of overwhelm and don't know where to begin and you want to get organized, once and for all, contact me.  I can help.

In the meantime, I am wishing you a good week ahead.